Steps You Need To Take To Become A Personal Trainer In The UK

Get a Specialist Insurance For Personal Trainers & Fitness Instructors

Specialisation and advanced qualifications for personal trainers:

Level 3 Diploma in Fitness Instructing and Personal Training

Level 4 qualifications in Personal Training

Everything You Need To Know About The Career In Personal Training

Being a Personal Trainer is probably one of the best jobs out there: they can choose when and where they work, and they get to make a positive impact on the lives of others. Although The UK personal training market is evaluated to be worth over £600 million annually, yet, the market isn’t that glutted with them. In fact, it’s one of the fastest-growing professions in the UK, and clients all have different preferences in who they work with. Given the latter, you can set up a niche for yourself in the market if you’re motivated.

Personal Trainers in the UK Market Research Report

Personal Trainer Salary

The average pay for a Personal Trainer in the UK is about £20,000 per year. The experience greatly influences earning potential for this job, also, extra skills associated with this job, that can boost earnings are nutrition, sports therapy and sports massage. Area, where you train your clients will play a big role in how much you can earn as a personal trainer. One-to-one sessions in central London, for instance, can earn you £50 – £100 an hour. In other parts of the UK, the earnings £25-£35 an hour is the norm.

What The Job As A Personal Trainer Entails

As a personal trainer, you will talk with your clients to learn about their health history and their fitness levels. You’ll help them set and reach short- and long-term fitness goals. As they progress, you’ll educate them about how to follow their programs safely and effectively. You may give advice on health, lifestyle, and nutrition. You’ll also record your clients’ progress with measurements like heart rate and body fat. In the advanced level, you may help them with competition prep for Bikini, Figure, Physique or Bodybuilding shows and coach them on posing, stage presence, off-season prep and so on.

Personal Qualifications

You can find new clients with sharp marketing skills, but how do you keep them and make them love you so much they refer you to others?

Organization – You need to be able to keep track of your schedule and the routines of your clients.

Ability to customize – Your clients each need something different, and your regimens for them should reflect that.

Anatomy and Physiology knowledge – You should be able to explain the benefits and drawbacks of different types of exercises for different types of people and understand how exercise affects the human body.

Knowledge of diets and nutrition – Exercise and healthy eating go hand in hand. Your clients will look to you for tips on tweaking or overhauling how they eat to accomplish their goals.

Ability to motivate – Can you share your enthusiasm for exercise with others in an encouraging and affirming way? Can you identify what motivates your clients?

Knowledge of safety and health – You should know how to do exercises safely, use exercise equipment safely, and understand how particular exercises can help or harm people with certain conditions.

Commitment – You need to be dedicated to helping your clients and passionate about your work, according to Personal Trainers London.

Business Plan

If you’re going to work as a contractor with different gyms or otherwise work for yourself as a personal trainer, you need a business plan. Consider how you will market yourself and growing your business to expand your clientele.

Think about why you want to become a trainer. What sets you apart from other trainers?

Who do you want to work with? What specific audience do you want for clients?

What is the market size in your area? Who is your competition?

How will you spread the word about your service?

How much is it going to cost for you to start and run this business? Think about costs like public liability insurance, among others.

What training do you need?

Some gyms may hire personal trainers as regular employees, in which case you’ll be paid as other employees. You don’t have to worry about trying to find clients as much as you would as a freelance personal trainer, but you do need to keep your clients happy and attract new ones to working with you by providing excellent customer care. Working

Personal Trainer Diplomas

To start out, you can get a Level 2 Certificate in Fitness Instructing – Gym, a Level 2 Diploma in Instructing Exercise and Fitness, or a Level 2 Diploma in Health, Fitness, and Exercise Instruction. These only qualify you for work as a gym instructor, not as an independent personal trainer.

To develop yourself further and actually become a personal trainer, go for Level 3 certifications, like the Diploma in Personal Training or Fitness Instructing and Personal Training. You can also get the Level 3 Award in Conversion of Advanced Fitness Instructor to Personal Trainer Status if you already have some qualifications as a fitness instructor. (Remember that part of your business plan to plan for training costs? According to Personal Trainers London, you can expect to spend about £1,500. This pays for your Level 3 Certificate training. However, it’s important to note that this is the average: you’re going to see prices that range considerably in either direction.

Level 3 courses can be done in a month studying full-time, over 12 weekends, and you can do it online. Distance learning takes the longest, and it must be finished within 2 years, although most finish within about six months.

Choose A Recognised Training Provider

Whatever training you get, make sure that it is accredited by a main regulatory body, like Active IQ, CYQ, YMCA, City and Guilds and OCR. Your course should also be recognized by the Register of Exercise Professionals if you want to have the best chance of working in a major gym. Also, when choosing for training provider for your personal trainer course, you should check what extra help and support they will offer. Some training companies, after completing their course, will give you help and support to get you to get on the right path, they will advise you on different options you would prefer to take with your personal training career, whether that is getting a salaried position or working in a health club or gym as a self-employed personal trainer, or starting your own business.

Continue to take business courses to help you run your business well and to expand it if you’re a freelancer. When you’re ready, join a body of other professional personal trainers like the National Register of Personal Trainers. You’ll keep up to date on the latest in training and best practices, and you’ll be able to network and increase your reputation as a great trainer.

Diversify the training qualifications you offer your clients to appeal to more people. For example, you could offer yoga as a way for your clients to use muscles that they might not normally in an intense cardiovascular workout.

Further Learning Courses And Specialisation

You can often find Level 3 courses with other modules bundled in. These are more continuous professional development, but if you know what you want to specialise in, you can focus on that in your training search. For example, you could do a nutritionist module, or maybe one in Pilates. There are also diplomas and awards at Level 3 in sports massage and designing pre- and post-natal exercise programmes.

As your business grows, you might want to add to your education with Level 4 qualifications. These are created to help you work with special populations, it will establish you as an expert in the field of exercise and health and fast track you to the top of the fitness industry.

Some other areas that you can concentrate on and become an expert are:

Weight Loss Specialisation

Group Exercise And Training Specialisation

Performance Enhancement Specialist

Corrective Exercise Specialisation

Fitness Nutrition Specialisation

Senior Fitness Specialisation

Obesity and Diabetes Specialisation

Exercise to Music Specialisation

Low Back Pain Management Specialisation

Youth Exercise Specialisation

Sports Massage Specialisation

Business Development for Fitness Professionals Specialisation

MMA Conditioning Specialisation

With this extra training from the start of your career, you can appeal to many more clients and significantly raise your earning potential.

Personal Trainer & Fitness Instructor Insurance

When working as a personal trainer, it is not a legal requirement to have personal trainer insurance, however, it is a good practice and wise move to have one. If one of your clients get hurt or injured during the course of their training session, or property damage occur caused by you or your clients, if the trainer does not have an insurance policy set up, he or she would not be protected from any claims made by members of the public or your clients.

When arranging for a PT insurance you should go for the comprehensive cover that will usually include the following:

Public Liability cover

Professional Indemnity cover

Sports Equipment cover

Personal Accident cover

Personal trainer insurance policies start just £50 for the whole year, that is not much for the peace of mind.

I hope this post gave you a good overview of the personal trainer career path and progression. If you still have questions or comments about how to become a personal trainer and working in the health and fitness industry please comment below or visit our career forum for more in-depth discussions.

Reader Interactions

Comments

I have a friend who is very interested in becoming a personal trainer and we were actually discussing the job and what it would be like to work as a personal trainer. He seems to be under impression that being a personal trainer is such a relaxed and stress-free job. I didn’t really have an argument to prove him wrong but I am sure that it is not that relaxed job as he imagines it to be. So I am thinking of some reality points that can change the perception of a relaxed career and what it would be really like to work as a personal trainer. I am sure there must be some downsides to this job.

I think that the most stressful aspect of the job is living with uncertainty. This means uncertain schedule and income. Every client has a particular everyday life with special needs, you will have to be prepared to accept unusual schedules and, mostly, last minute cancellations. As it is a dynamic and individual practice, classes can fluctuate week by week and, consequently, your bank account status. It would be a good idea to organize a financial plan to support you in adverse situations. But I guess that is the case with most self-employed position and not just personal trainers.

I must warn you, or your friend, in this case, prepare to work hard. Truth has to be said, it is a very tough industry to make a lot of money in. To see that extra cash for savings or holiday plans, you will need to attend a lot of clients, especially working for a gym, that takes a percentage of your earnings. When working autonomously, you charge what you want and earn 100% of it, but you will need to create a good reputation to build a client base, and that takes time. And the rents that the gyms are charging for PTs are not cheap, in Central London, you can easily pay £1000 a month or even more. And also, you are competing against other personal trainers, at some gyms, there could be 20 other personal trainers working so the competition is though. So, good luck.

I am planning to get qualified soon also. Still saving money for the training course, I am not sure yet which course to take, ymcafit.org.uk or premierglobal.co.uk both companies seem quite good. I think I will probably go for the cheapest one as the course is quite expensive. If anyone has any info which company is better YMCA or Premier Global then please let me know.

I think your friend is right, there is not much to it. I see personal trainers in my gym all the time, seems a cushy job to me, they chat a bit then they show how to do this or that exercise and that’s it, next client, another £50 an hour. All you need to do is get certified.

Getting certified is only the start. Starting to learn about the human body and training types are just the beginning of the personal training world discovery, there are so many options for specialization and modalities. Workshops and new practices are continuously being created and growing, it is a must to be updated and improve your experience, there is so much more to it then just chatting in the gym. I suggest Nick that you’d actually take one personal training session so I could find out how much knowledge and experience is required for the job.

Great post, very comprehensive guide, I am looking to get started in the fitness industry also. I don’t think the job would be that relaxed but I think it certainly will be rewarding. Thanks for posting the info.

It requires quite a lot to be a good personal trainer. Not only the technical skills are a must but also how to deal and interact with people. You will be with your clients all the time, sharing knowledge, inspiration, motivation and advice. They will not necessarily discuss their goals clearly, what will require from you to go beyond, understand and show what is really possible to achieve. Frustration and anxiety can come on your way too, it can be close to a therapy session. The bright side is that you can develop good relationships, make friends and network.

I am a personal trainer and I can say, it is a very challenging job sometimes. It is certainly not just bit of chatting in the gym, there are so many things I must do every day, from planning the session, analyzing the results, monitoring the training, providing equipment to giving instructions, the job varies night and day. You will be multitasking nonstop but with attention and confidence, you are accomplishing success.

Hey guys, expect to give up the weekends when you become a personal trainer 🙂 This is not your traditional 9 to 5 job. Your schedule is made for the in-between hours of a client day full of duties, including weekends. You will have to embrace a new routine and variable calendar, it’s part of the game in the fitness industry. Good luck!

I am really into Fitness and I been to the Gyms like a Fitness Freak. So I am now thinking about choosing my career as a Personal Fitness Instructor, This article gives so much information I have wanted to know, I am glad I found it.

What about if I just want to become a fitness instructor or gym instructor as they call it. I saw a sign in my local Fitness First that they are looking for a fitness instructor. So what are the requirements for that?

Usually, there are no set requirements to become a gym instructor. Most gyms do prefer that you have already compleated a Leve 2 Certificate For Gym Instructor but in a lot of gyms, you can start as an assistant instructor and just train on the job. It would be best if you just ask the Fitness First what their requirements are. I do think however that they are probably looking for someone with some previous experience. Whether you have any experience or not, you are probably going to get minimum wage tho so I would suggest to invest bit of time and money and go for Level 3 Personal Trainer Qualification or sometimes some gym will pay for your qualification if you work for them already as a gym instructor but in this case you have to work for the gym for certain period of time once you have got your qualification. If you go freelance you probably need to reimburse the gym for your training.

Thanks for the great article. I always wanted to become a personal trainer but couldn’t find a good info on the topic, like how or when or what to do. Your article is very clear and informative. It helps me a lot.

This is really the job of the future, I mean that as a lot of jobs will be replaced by robots or technology, this job will probably be safe for years to come. Not only the general public but also tennis players, or basketball players or whatever sports people… are in need of a good personal trainer. So it seems like a good career to pursue in my opinion.

I am from India and one of my friends has a nice built and for part-time earnings he wants to become a personal trainer please inform me if in India they have any kind of job like this. He is living in Mumbai. Thank you.

You do need a qualification to be a personal trainer so you would know what you are doing. Its the same like that you want a doctor who has proper qualifications, right? It is not enough that you have been in the gum few times and you have done some biceps curls and bench press and then you watch few YouTube videos and now you think you are ready to give exercise advice for other people. You need to know what you are doing, whether the qualification is required or not.

You want to be a PT, and really good one, you need to make sure that you take your training course with well know training provider. Yes, it may cost bit more money but you can have a piece of mind that you get an industry-recognised qualification and it is easier to get jobs and clients if you have a well-recognised diploma in your pocket.

From the past year, I started bodybuilding and now I want to earn some money by working as a personal trainer in the local gym. I appreciate all the comments here, gave me some good insights about things I wasn’t even thinking about myself. Comments are probably more useful than the article itself.

Here is the most important advice for anyone who is planning to become a personal trainer. What is going to happen is that, after a lot of work comes the sweat. Infinite laundry batches from the training sessions and your own workout, loads of sweaty and stinky gym clothes. Organize yourself to get labeled bags for post-workout clothing and avoid getting humidity and bad smell everywhere, you will be thankful for that. A washing machine is the most important domestic appliance in a personal trainer house. 🙂

Personal training means more than passing customers through exhausting exercise. A personal coach must motivate, be mentor and friend. They have to find out what determines them to succeed and what limits their performance. All of this is equal to zero if you do not have customers. You need to build a solid reputation and a positive image to attract customers. You can have dozens of certifications, but you can never use them without an attack plan.

Excellent Article and great comments! Gave me lots of things to think about regarding becoming a trainer. I have been considering becoming a PT before already, I think this is something I could truly enjoy. I think I get certified soon.

Personal training is an amazing job, but make no mistake, it’s difficult. Up until now you were on your own; and even with management, proper guidance showing you what it really takes to be successful is few and far between.

I am looking to teach exercise classes and I want to do the Exercise to Music Award. Also, I am thinking to go to YMCA do this. So I was thinking it will give me a good underpinning knowledge of choreography that on some courses like Les Mills body attack, for instance, is a pre-requisite and also if I want to teach spinning/aqua aerobics or other classes it would just make my life so much easier. Also, I have a question for someone who is already teaching group exercise classes, what are the average earnings and do you work for the clubs directly or are you still self-employed and do you get the percentage of the group fees or is it flat rate they pay you?